In every day life we have places, times, and things that we treasure, or give extra appreciation towards. In Judaism we have the same type of situation. The holiest time is Shabbat, the holiest place is the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, or the Beit Hamikdash. The holiest place in the the Beit Hamikdash is the Holy of Holies, the Kodesh Hakashim. In the Holy of Holies was the holy ark which holds the ten commandments. According to the Gemara in Yoma 52b, nun bet amud bet, there were many other holy things in the holy of holies with the ark. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to look very carefully inside that holiest place to know what is most important to us? What are our most treasured possessions and what do they represent?

The only problem is King Josiah buried all these holy objects under the Temple mount before the Temple was destroyed, because he was scared of what would happen to them. According to the Talmud, he buried the holy ark with its golden keruvim (the cherubs on top of the ark) which holds the Ten Commandments and the Torah, and also he buried those things which were stored with the ark, including a jug of manna, the oil used for anointing, the staff of Aaron, and the gift from the Philistines. What do these seven treasures of Judaism represent and why are they so crucial that they occupied the holy of holies?

The ten commandments were found in two forms. The original commandments fashioned by G-d, which Moses broke, were there in little broken pieces. The complete version of the Ten commandments which Moshe crafted, were there too. In either form, they represent the only written guidance that we have straight from Heaven. Although one version was broken due to the sins of Israel, we kept the broken pieces as if to say that there is still hope to regain our worthiness to receive those words of God. The ten commandments in their whole form that were written by Moses indicate the human ability to translate the words of God into our own terms. In short, the ten commandments represent the human potential to receive the divine, and our ability to understand and appreciate them.

The Torah itself represents the laws that are the guidelines to our lives. They represent the notion that everything we do can be done in a Godly way, a humane way, and a spiritual way.

The keruvim, the cherubs, were also buried because they protected the ark. God talked to Moshe through the keruvim. The keruvim faced each other and God would talk to Moshe from between them. The faces of the keruvim looked like children. Perhaps the message of the keruvim is that children are yet another treasure in Judaism. Especially when the children are so close to the Torah.

All food is from God, but the manna was the most direct food, coming straight from Heaven. By having the manna as a centerpiece for Judaism it reminds us to look at all the gifts that God gives us, such as food, clothing, and beautiful world.

The Shemen Hamischa, the anointing oil was used to anoint and inaugurate the vessels of the holy temple, such as the Aron, the shulchan, and the menorah, which are all mentioned in this parsha. It was also used to anoint holy people such as the Cohanim, the high priest, the kings, and one day it will anoint the Mashiach, the Messiah. The Rabbis say in the talmud that the oil used by Moses to anoint the Tabernacle, will one day be used to anoint the Messiah. This indicates that the same sense of authenticity which we were privileged to have in the time of Moses we can still have, and the Shemen Hamischa will officially designate it as authentic.

Sometime you build a building such as a shul, for holy purposes and you hope that it will live up to its expectations, but sometimes we wonder if what we have will be the real McCoy. The shemen Hamischa, the anointing oil offers the fact that authenticity is still attainable.

The staff of Aaron came about when the Jewish people challenged his authority. They wondered why Moses had chosen his brother. In order to squelch any doubts about the truth of Moses' appointees, a showdown was held between all the tribes. A branch of each tribe was placed in the sanctuary over night and in the morning, only Aaron’s had blossomed and grown ripe almonds, ready to eat.

At times we wonder if we can achieve absolute certainty and truth in this world. How do we know for sure that all the teachings and values of our grandparents are true? The staff of Aaron tested the possibility of certainty and truth in a constantly changing and confusing world.

We mentioned before regarding the manna that much in this world is from God to us, but the box from the Philistines symbolizes that we can give to God. When the Philistines captured the Holy Ark in battle they became stricken with hemorrhoids, a plague of rats, and their idols miraculously fell to the ground before the ark. Out of a genuine sense of awe, reverence, and fear of God, the Philistines gave a gift of golden hemorrhoids and golden rats, believe it or not, to the Jews and to God. Recognizing that they gave this wholeheartedly, the Jews preserved this gift and placed it right in the holy of holies.

Sometimes we are so humbled by all that our parents give us, and all that God has given us, that we wonder if there is anything we can give back. The box of the Philistines attests to the fact that if done properly we can give back to God. Similarly the Argaz (the box) teaches us that we can try to give back to our parents, even though they have given us so much.

Moshe Alshech asks about the name of this parsha, parashat Terumah, which means giving. How can the quote "Take me a terumah, a gift" be correct? Terumah means gift. But you don’t take a gift, you give a gift. He answers that, when you give to God’s temple, you gain a sense of worthiness to take part in building God’s house. You get more than you give.

Even when giving to another person giving is truly getting, because you are giving to someone your gift, but in return you are gaining a sense of fulfillment. Just to have the feeling that you are doing something right is worth more then anything you can give.

So we have said that there are seven treasures of Judaism buried under the Temple Mount. Is there any common thread to these seven centerpieces of Judaism? Well, we noticed that some of the treasures come from Heaven, some come from the earth, and some act as a bridge between the two. So, which are the treasures that come from Heaven? Well, the broken Ten Commandments came from Heaven, and were written by G-D’s hand. The manna clearly comes from Heaven, and the Midrash says that it was the food of the Angels. Out of the remaining treasures, which are from earth? The Argaz shel Pishtim, the box that the Philistines sent, with the golden gifts, was certainly a gift from earth to Heaven, an appeasement to G-d.

The two tablets of the Ten Commandments that Moses crafted were also completely written by Moses here on earth. The copy of the Torah that sat in the Holy Sanctuary, either in or next to the Holy Ark was written by Moshe, which Rashi points out in Baba Batra (14b). The staff of Aaron was obviously from earth, because it was simply an almond branch. However the Rabbis say that Moses’ staff and maybe Aaron’s too was part of the original tree of life, which is comes from G-d. The keruvim represent angels which are in Heaven, but they also represent children which are on earth. And the voice of G-d came down to earth from the Heaven, through the keruvim. The shemen hamischah, the anointing oil clearly was made by Moshe in this world, but its purpose is to elevate things to a higher level, to become holy.

Overall the seven features of the Holy of Holies represent the nexus, the link, the connection between Heaven and Earth. The goal of the Beit Hamikdash and all of Judaism is to bridge the gap between Heaven and Earth. By giving to G-dly causes, by studying the Torah, and by recognizing the gifts of G-d in everything around us, we bring Heaven and Earth that much closer. This week’s parsha of Terumah speaks of the opportunity to give gifts to the holy temple, in order to build a place where Heaven and Earth can meet. By attempting to live all our daily activities in our life, in accordance with the high principle of Torah we elevate all our activities to the plane of the divine.

The treasures of the Holy of Holies retain the key to the bridging of Heaven and Earth.